All businesses that rely on computers for daily tasks need to be taking good care of their server room.
Your server holds alarming amounts of information about your business and your work, so needs to be kept safe and secure. But sometimes, the worst does happen and you don’t want to be left with no data or work at all.
Luckily for you though, there are a number of ways you can safeguard your sever room and protect it from fires, floods, and everything in between:
1. Location
First and foremost, the location of your sever room is perhaps the most important step in its safeguarding. Most professionals recommend against constructing your server room against an exterior wall. This is because they can often get damp, and windows are at risk of being damaged by bad weather. Instead, choose an internal location away from these potential risks.
2. Room to grow
It is important that you choose the right sized room for your server. And that doesn’t mean planning for your current needs; it means looking forwards to where you will grow in the future. If the room is too small, you will probably encounter problems along the way. Make sure that your room – and server itself – is big enough to cope with the growing demands of your company.
3. Place on a higher floor
Flooding can have a hugely damaging effect on your server and on your business. Even if you’re in a location that has never flooded or been subjected to water damage before, don’t take any risks. Don’t locate your server in the basement or a ground floor. Instead, place it on a higher floor to lessen your flooding concerns. Moreover, you can help minimise the distance cables have to run.
4. Avoid waterworks
It’s not just floods and freak weather conditions that pose a threat to your server room. Choosing a room that contains pipes, plumbing and other waterworks is also a risk. Pipes can leak, crack and break completely causing significant damage to your server and other equipment. By opting for a smarter location, you can remove the risk of almost any water damage.
5. Temperature control
Did you know that your server room needs to be temperature-controlled to run at optimum level? It is often recommended that you keep the temperature below 23°C to lessen the risk of overheating and fires. You can purchase a whole host of temperature control systems and sensors to automate this process, and alert you to any sudden changes.
6. Security
As well as environmental issues, you should also safeguard your server room from physical break-ins. A server holds so much information about your business; it is like gold dust in the wrong hands. To up the security around your server, make sure there are no external entry points and that it remains under lock and key at all times.
7. Maintenance
Whilst keeping your server room secure, you also need to plan for regular maintenance. Things will need removing and replacing, and you need to make sure that you can do so without disrupting your server room or the day-to-day productivity of your business. It is often recommended that you install a larger-than-average door to ensure equipment can be replaced without having to remove the door frames.
8. Fire protection
Your office will need fire detection and sprinkler systems, to protect your staff from fire. Your server room will need a fire protection system that extinguishes fire by removing heat or oxygen to protect everything from water damage too.
9. Separate controls
Where possible, you should keep a server room’s power supply separate from the rest of the office. This means that if there is a power surge, you should remain online and there won’t be any damage to your server.
10. Back it up
The final and perhaps most important point is to always keep your server backed up. By saving all your data – every evening – on an external drive, you can keep your business running as normal; even if the worst does happen.
BTI Computer is a leading supplier of server room monitoring products including cameras for server rooms and more. To find out more about how their products can keep your server safe and online, visit the website today.
Your server holds alarming amounts of information about your business and your work, so needs to be kept safe and secure. But sometimes, the worst does happen and you don’t want to be left with no data or work at all.
Luckily for you though, there are a number of ways you can safeguard your sever room and protect it from fires, floods, and everything in between:
1. Location
2. Room to grow
It is important that you choose the right sized room for your server. And that doesn’t mean planning for your current needs; it means looking forwards to where you will grow in the future. If the room is too small, you will probably encounter problems along the way. Make sure that your room – and server itself – is big enough to cope with the growing demands of your company.
3. Place on a higher floor
Flooding can have a hugely damaging effect on your server and on your business. Even if you’re in a location that has never flooded or been subjected to water damage before, don’t take any risks. Don’t locate your server in the basement or a ground floor. Instead, place it on a higher floor to lessen your flooding concerns. Moreover, you can help minimise the distance cables have to run.
4. Avoid waterworks
It’s not just floods and freak weather conditions that pose a threat to your server room. Choosing a room that contains pipes, plumbing and other waterworks is also a risk. Pipes can leak, crack and break completely causing significant damage to your server and other equipment. By opting for a smarter location, you can remove the risk of almost any water damage.
5. Temperature control
Did you know that your server room needs to be temperature-controlled to run at optimum level? It is often recommended that you keep the temperature below 23°C to lessen the risk of overheating and fires. You can purchase a whole host of temperature control systems and sensors to automate this process, and alert you to any sudden changes.
6. Security
As well as environmental issues, you should also safeguard your server room from physical break-ins. A server holds so much information about your business; it is like gold dust in the wrong hands. To up the security around your server, make sure there are no external entry points and that it remains under lock and key at all times.
7. Maintenance
Whilst keeping your server room secure, you also need to plan for regular maintenance. Things will need removing and replacing, and you need to make sure that you can do so without disrupting your server room or the day-to-day productivity of your business. It is often recommended that you install a larger-than-average door to ensure equipment can be replaced without having to remove the door frames.
8. Fire protection
Your office will need fire detection and sprinkler systems, to protect your staff from fire. Your server room will need a fire protection system that extinguishes fire by removing heat or oxygen to protect everything from water damage too.
9. Separate controls
Where possible, you should keep a server room’s power supply separate from the rest of the office. This means that if there is a power surge, you should remain online and there won’t be any damage to your server.
10. Back it up
The final and perhaps most important point is to always keep your server backed up. By saving all your data – every evening – on an external drive, you can keep your business running as normal; even if the worst does happen.
BTI Computer is a leading supplier of server room monitoring products including cameras for server rooms and more. To find out more about how their products can keep your server safe and online, visit the website today.
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